This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

The Louisiana (P) Constitution provides that if punishment could be imposed on a defendant of more than six months, he shall be tried before a jury of six persons, five of them must concur to render a verdict. Burch (D) was convicted by a nonunanimous six-person jury. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether conviction by a nonunanimous six-person jury in a state criminal trial for a nonpetty offense violates the rights of an accused to trial by jury guaranteed by the 6th and 14th Amendments.

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